Greetings
True Believers,
So I wanted
to take some time and talk about building a lab environment for learning
Windows Server 2012 and preparing for MCSA: Windows Server 2012 certification.
As an IT Pro, I know that book knowledge is great, but it is the hands-on
skills that get the job done. Getting time in a lab environment to learn new technology
is critical to your success in “The Real World” as well as passing your
certification exams.
For my lab environment, I want full control of the hardware I can see in the OS
plus the flexibility to run multiple scenarios with ease. For that, I choose to
do all of my studying in virtual environments. For that I built a custom
system based recommendations from Jeff Guillet at Expta.com. Affectionately known as the Death Star by Squidulor, It has a Core i5 and 32GB of RAM. It is a low-cost (Under $1k)
system that is fast and quiet. Jeff did a phenomenal job of determining the
specs for this system. If you are looking for a lab system, this is the way to
go. I built this last April so you may be able build it for less or increase
the resources for the same amount of money. After the original build, I did
upgrade the storage. I now have 2 SSDs and 2 SATA HDs in the rig. Performance
is top notch and you can’t hear it at all. I had a full private cloud scenario
running on the system and no noise. It’s great for a home office. Another set of specs to check out is from Jared Shockley from his blog at JaredOnTech.com.
The Death Star in Action |
If you do not
have TechNet or MSDN, you’ll need a copy of Windows Server 2012. Click here download an evaluation of Windows Server 2012. Note: it
will prompt you to login with a Microsoft account.
While I am a Microsoft
guy, I always want to use the best tool for the job. In that case, I use VMwareWorkstation 9.0.2 for my desktop virtualization platform. It allows me to virtualize
Hyper-V servers on a single physical machine. Note, this is an unsupported
scenario, but I’ve never had any issues with it. This cannot be done on Client
Hyper-V in Windows 8 or Hyper-V on Server 2012. Also, I am a VCP-DV so I do a
lot with vSphere. It can be virtualized as well in this environment. What I
envision when I get to Private Cloud studies is being able to run ESXi hosts
and Hyper-V hosts along with System Center 2012 to play with the integration of
all the pieces. So what is the catch? VMware Workstation 9.0.2 is not free.
Another option may be to use Virtual Box
but you will need to test that on your own. I have no love for Oracle or the Java
Malware Environment so I refuse to use the product even though it may be a
great free option.
For the 70-410 exam, I
simply have a small lab environment with two VMs running Windows Server 2012
Standard in each flavor: Server Core and Server with a GUI. This has allowed me
to work through all of the hands-on activities in books, TechNet articles, and
general goofing around. Since VMware Workstation allows you to add in lots of
different hardware such as multiple virtual hard disks or network adapters, you
can work with Storage Spaces, NIC Teaming and other features requiring
additional hardware components. For the 411 and 412 exams, you will get into
more complex scenarios requiring a number of VMs and virtual networks. I’d a
little ways out from that scenario, but I’ll let everyone know what I’m doing
when I get there. This is one of the reasons I put together the rig above.
So what are your options
is you can’t put together the system above and/or have limited resources? Here’s
a list of some options for you to check out. Some have limitations but all of
them will give you hands-on experience that is helpful for exam prep.
·
Windows
Azure: You can sign up for a free trial of
Windows Azure and build out some VMs there. Microsoft Evangelist Keith Mayer wrote a great blog
post on building a lab environment on Azure. He also has a ton of other
great posts. Check out his blog here.
·
TechNet Virtual
Labs: While limited in lab areas for Windows Server 2012, it is an option
to run through the labs at TechNet.
·
Keith
Mayer’s Lab Hours: Keith Mayer host
virtual lab hours every Friday afternoon. Check them out here.
·
Windows
Server 2012 Early Experts Challenge: I
mentioned this challenge in my last blog post on born to learn. The resources
can be found here.
·
Step-By-Step
Guides: The step by step guides offer some more complex
scenarios and are great for adding on after you have built your foundation of
knowledge. Check the resources out here.
My biggest
recommendation for lab environments is just build it and play. Whether you are
using a white paper, some book, or just the integrated help screens, just start
building stuff. Use your imagination and learn what Windows Server 2012 has to
offer.
Do you have
any other lab suggestions? Leave them in the comments below or on the Windows Server Study Group Forums.
Till next time...Mike
Note: I have created an addition blog post that goes along with this so make sure you read "More on Building Your Lab..."
Note: I have created an addition blog post that goes along with this so make sure you read "More on Building Your Lab..."
Comments
Is just one instance of Windows Server 2012 possible in Client Hyper-V? No multiple servers in Client Hyper-V? This is really important! Thanks for posting... now I have a clue why others on YouTube used Virtual Box to install Windows Server 2012. That does leave the question... what good, then, is Client Hyper-V?
Please expand on this... I know it's very basic, but it's a must to understand...